


Can you hear them sing?

by RedGhost1010



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fix-It, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Uchiha Sasuke, Protective Uzumaki Naruto, Reincarnation, Soulmates, Whump, poor zetsu, yin and yang aren't supposed to LIKE each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23099179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedGhost1010/pseuds/RedGhost1010
Summary: Naruto always thought the world looked a little weird. Sasuke always knew his family was a little off.(Reincarnation is complicated and maybe Asura and Indra should have thought this through a bit more.)
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto, Ootsutsuki Asura & Ootsutsuki Indra, Senju Hashirama & Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 73
Kudos: 668





	1. Souls

Naruto always thought the world looked a little weird.

It wasn’t that he lived alone, or that he couldn’t recall kindness from anyone other than the Old-Man, or that he sometimes had to hunt food in the forest to eat – they were problems, maybe, but Naruto wasn’t sure he was allowed to ask the strange, sad Old-Man questions yet – and it bothered him that he couldn’t put this feeling into words.

Naruto remembered when the mask person told him about birthdays. It was also when he learned to count – _three, three, three, he was three years old and his name was Naruto, he had a name_ – even though Naruto still wasn’t sure what counting was supposed to be used for other than birthdays. 

He remembered when he tried to use the stove for the first time and a mask person stopped him from touching the circle. This one didn’t speak, but Naruto watched them fill a pot with water. The memory was blurry after that but he had a full tummy and a peaceful night’s sleep.

He even remembered when a small cat jumped on his balcony to visit. The cat never came closer and Naruto never tried to touch it. It was one of his earliest memories.

_There's another memory too, one filled with red, red, red, but Naruto was pretty certain it was a dream._

All of this he could remember, yet he couldn’t recall why the world looked weird.

Maybe it was the lack of plants. Naruto's apartment grew colorful when he learned he could give the coins that appeared in his kitchen to the mask people in exchange for things. The mask people had always brought food, but the coins earned him something new. He got paper and ink once and covered his walls with it. The mask people hadn’t liked that because they started bringing him different things to explore like scrolls with ink already on them, blankets, boxes, soap, and marbles.

One time they brought a tiny plant and Naruto was absolutely captivated by it. The little thing grew over time on his balcony and soon he wanted nothing but plants. When they covered his entire apartment, the mask people tried to stop bringing them, but Naruto would refuse anything else. The gold coins meant they had to bring him what he wanted, right?

_When the food stopped appearing but the coins continued to pile on his counter, Naruto stared for a very long time out the window. Asking questions was bad, it seemed._

Naruto was four when he learned he lived in a village.

He was a stubborn toddler who grew up listening to the sounds the outside people made and learned they were words. He wasn’t certain what an outside or an inside was, but he knew people were not 'inside' and there must be some way to get to the 'outside.' Naruto also knew coins were given to the mask people and the mask people would bring things, so he was pretty certain that was how it worked for the 'outside' people too.

The outside people didn’t wear masks. They also didn’t have a lot of plants. Maybe these people didn’t like plants? Naruto liked plants. Coins always brought plants.

 _It took days of hunger for Naruto to learn the coins were supposed to be used for food now. It took him an even shorter amount of time to realize not everyone 'outside' would accept his coins._

Once he figured out how to open the door to his home, he spent most days exploring the village that didn’t like his coins as much as the mask people did and continued to wonder about the lack of plants. Plants made Naruto happy, but he guessed that didn’t work for everyone. But Konoha was The Village _Hidden in the Leaves_ and when Naruto figured out there were plants behind this strange hole in a giant wall surrounding the village, he was ecstatic.

A not mask person also stood by the hole in the wall. Probably admiring it too. Naruto had learned many words by the time he was four and knew giving people coins didn’t always work to make them say words.

“Plants not in village,” Naruto said when the not mask person looked at him. _The shinobi had been watching him from the beginning but Naruto didn’t know that._

“Trees,” said the not mask person.

“Trees,” Naruto echoed for days to come.

“They protect the village,” the man offered again. “Konoha is the Village Hidden in the Leaves, after all.” Naruto knew what villages and leaves were. He wasn’t so sure about everything else.

He found trees inside the village too and learned another word: forest. When the not mask people – _civilians, civilians, civilians_ – wouldn’t take his coins, Naruto found food in the forest. For a village surrounded by trees, the forests were unusually empty of people. Food should have been trial and error like most abandoned toddlers – eat it, wait to see if you get sick, eat it again – but Naruto had never known sickness and never would. He ate anything that smelled nice.

So maybe it was weird that Naruto didn't have parents – _moms and dads, the kids of the village called out to_ – and that the mask people didn’t show up anymore, and that Naruto loved plants, and that the strange/sad Old-Man who visited him in the forest was probably the one leaving him coins. 

The world was really weird like that, but Naruto knew with 100% certainty that something else was missing.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Sasuke always thought his family was just a little bit off.

He learned words fast. He loved them. Family and food and house and love and Mother and Father and _Outoto––_ Sasuke loved words and he knew that was the right one, but Mother would hide a smile behind her hand and Itachi would hug him really tight whenever Sasuke called him “Outoto.”

“Onii-san,” Itachi would say as he held him and Sasuke would nod because yes, that’s him. Sasuke was "Nii-san." He knew words and he wasn’t sure why his family thought he didn’t.

He learned his name too and liked how it sounded. Sasuke Uchiha of the Uchiha main branch family. They were the kind of words that made you feel warm and important. Identity that gave you meaning. Just like Sasuke knew he was a big brother, he was also an “Uchiha” and it was this identity that made him feel like something was just a little bit off.

There was a shrine in their district where the shinobi and civilians worshiped. Father explained with awe in his voice that the Naka Shrine was the origin of their clan and home to their patron deity. He spoke of passion, history, identity and the power of the Uchiha, and Sasuke was both captivated and determined to visit.

Sasuke was four when he first joined Itachi in honoring their ancestors. The Naka Shrine was beautiful. Sasuke loved words but the sight before him stole them all. Surrounded by his clan, little Sasuke witnessed the power of belief that day. In unity, the Uchiha Clan stood within the decorated halls of a shrine that held relics that survived years of conflict and bloodshed to pass on the tale of their history.

It was also surrounded by his clan that little Sasuke realized something was wrong.

He didn’t voice it until he was safely on Itachi’s back, leaving the shrine behind and returning to their family home. 

“Outoto, what’s under?” Sasuke asked, pressing his cheek against his brother’s.

“Under?” Itachi questioned, smiling.

“The floor in the shrine.”

Itachi was quiet for a long time. His brother was nine and already respected by the clan, but sometimes Sasuke saw a funny look on his face like he was wearing now.

“Why do you ask?” Itachi asked. Sasuke hummed. He wasn’t sure. It was just wrong.

“Don’t know.”

Itachi continued walking. His grip on Sasuke’s legs tightened a little.

“You can keep a secret, can’t you, Nii-san?” Itachi asked, smiling. Itachi never called Sasuke Nii-san unless they were alone and Sasuke was always careful not to call Itachi "Outoto" around their father who said it was disrespectful.

Sasuke kicked his legs and nodded eagerly. He was very good at keeping secrets – _darkness was silent, silent, silent and Sasuke loved words so much it filled the silence to keep shadows from whispering––_

“The clan leaders meet below the shrine,” Itachi said, voice nothing more than a whisper and red eyes activated. Itachi was using a Genjustu. What an important secret this must be!

“Dad?” Sasuke asked, excited. Itachi nodded. “What do they talk about?”

“Well, important clan business,” Itachi explained, “and to reconnect with our roots.”

“Roots,” Sasuke echoed. 

“The most important part of any tree, some would say.”

“But not you,” Sasuke said, recognizing Itachi’s tone.

His brother smiled. “Roots are important, but what use are they if the tree bears no fruit?”

“Like tomatoes.”

Itachi laughed softly and set Sasuke on the ground to bend to his level. Sasuke wasn’t sure why this felt odd to him. 

“Our history is beneath the floor of the Naka Shrine, but it’s a clan secret,” Itachi said, taping Sasuke’s forehead. “Let’s do our part to keep it, yes?”

Sasuke loved words because they gave people identity. He wasn’t sure why the place that held his clan’s history felt wrong – _altered, false, tampered_ – but he loved Itachi very much and promised not to tell anyone about the hidden room under the shrine.

When the brothers returned home to share Sasuke’s first temple experience, the house was warm and filled with love the four-year-old felt deep in his bones. Mother gave each of them a kiss on the cheek and Father said he was proud of his interest in clan history, but Sasuke felt something twist when they discussed Itachi’s success as the older brother.

_I am the old–––_

The world was really, really weird and Sasuke knew with 100% certainty that something was missing.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Many years ago, a scorned son vowed to destroy his father’s legacy in order to seek true peace over lifetimes of reincarnation – _Ninshū was weak to Ninjustū and only the strong could afford to be kind, but his father and brother would never value violence over reason even if it got them killed –_ and his younger brother vowed to reach a peaceful resolution even if it took reincarnating over and over and over again to stop the feud.

The reincarnations were never the same soul, per se, every soul was unique and Indra and Asura already had their turn, but chakra leaves impressions. Perhaps the impressions were deeper in children born in times of peace – _a façade; fleeting. Peace is no friend of orphans –_ or perhaps the seeds planted by a man long thought dead caused unprecedented ripples to fold what would have been into what _is._

Asura and Indra’s chakra was reborn into two boys who couldn't quite figure out why everything around them was strange – _it’s them that’s strange, of course, but by the time they find each other it’s a lost cause to convince them otherwise_ – and wrong. Their history feels wrong, the land feels wrong, and over the horizon there was something very, very wrong.

But Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha are four years old and no four-year-old, even those reincarnated from the grandchildren of a goddess, can properly articulate their feelings of wrongness.

Unaware of their own history, and the two odd boys causing ripples, the citizens of the Land of Fire continue to find comfort in the trees. Nature knows what people do not. Humans may have forgotten the importance of trees but the chakra within them loses no reverence.

Deep in the trees, in a land of hatred and fire hidden in leaves, two souls stir. 

_Can you hear them sing?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know _shit_ about Naruto terminology and don't care much for the absolutely fuckery that is the canon timeline. Let me know if i get something way off but this story is the only thing I've been able to write in a year so it's more of an anti-writers block decompression tool and less of genius plot plans. grad school is kicking my ass.
> 
> I have ADHD so Naruto's character is such a fucking joy to write. we stan a dumbass
> 
> let me know if you want me to continue this. kind of reads with the same style as my bnha angel/demon au. i have a weak spot for fate-destined stories.


	2. Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto was five years old when he made his first friend.

Naruto was five years old when he made his first friend. 

He knew what friends were from the kids in the village. Naruto watched them play and knew – _felt, saw_ – that trying to join them would be bad. The parents watch too closely and he – _felt, saw, knew_ – wasn’t safe under their gaze. Friends seemed nice, though. It was like having the mask people, maybe.

Naruto made his first friend in the forest. The raccoon visited him during lunch when the smell of Naruto’s frying fish must have covered the area. Naruto was humming, tapping a rhythm on his thighs as he waited for the fish to finish, when a small face peered up at him from across the fire. He knew instantly it was a raccoon. The masked people brought picture books when he was little and Naruto knew a lot of animals: dogs, snakes, cats, racons, octopus, turtle, _apeslugbeetlebullfox––_ Naruto liked animals almost as much as he liked plants.

“Hi,” Naruto said, too loudly. The creature froze and Naruto covered his mouth. He couldn’t scare his new friend away!

“Hi,” he tried again, voice a whisper. Naruto pulled a fish closer to the edge of the fire and blew on it. When the raccoon didn’t move from his spot, Naruto slowly tossed a ripped piece of fish in front of it.

The creatures nose sniffed the air and he snatched the food in his hands before darting away.

“Bye,” Naruto said, voice still a whisper. He stared into the forest for a few minutes before taking a bite of his meal.

When he was on his fourth bite, Naruto tensed. A soft nose brushed the back of his head and Naruto was terrified of scaring it away. He turned slowly and stared at the dark eyes of a deer. Naruto almost vibrated with excitement. 

“Hi,” he whispered, slowly bringing the fish on a stick under its nose. The creature sniffed the offering but didn’t bite. Naruto wondered if maybe the deer didn’t like fish.

“Um,” he said, searching his tiny pile of gatherings, “you can have this?”

Naruto carefully cupped a few berries and held it under the nose of the deer. He held his breath when the creature leaned down to take them from his hands. Naruto wasn’t sure he was going to remember how to breathe after this.

Movement out of the corner of his eye saw his raccoon friend returning. Naruto was so ecstatic, he dropped the berries. The deer seemed unfazed and continued picking the berries off the floor of the forest, settling into a crouch.

“More fish?” Naruto asked the raccoon, holding out another piece. The raccoon took it but this time he didn’t scurry off. Naruto could see the creature eating the offering from just beyond a tree.

A rabbit hopped out next and Naruto brushed a gentle hand over its fur when the creature didn’t cower – _soft, warm, comforting, rabbits were supposed to bring joy not painpainpain_ – but something in Naruto was a little hesitant to take his eyes off the rabbit. Rabbits were dangerous, maybe? 

Surrounded by his friends, Naruto was oh so warm. His eyes caught many creatures mulling about in the forest and couldn’t believe so many came to see him.

It was the final creature that made Naruto’s breath hitch. Pretty; a bright orange that shined under the light of the moon. The creature was hesitant, remaining on the edge of the clearing until Naruto made eye contact with it, then it slowly approached the edge of the fire.

Naruto watched, lights dancing in his eyes, as the little fox snagged a piece of fish and settled at his feet. 

He was _warm, warm, warm_ and covered his face to hide his smile. The deer and the fox and the rabbit and the raccoon shuffled around for hours, warming Naruto to the point of feeling sleepy. He wanted to stay, basking in this feeling he had never known, but the animals soon left, and the sky was getting dark.

The moon guided Naruto home, the fire his new friends lit carrying a warmth deep in his belly that not even the cold stares of villagers could extinguish.

That night, Naruto woke up crying, clutching his stomach. He knew what loneliness was and thanks to his forest friends he knew what it wasn’t. _Warmwarmwarmwarm._ He'd spent the evening feeling _safe, loved, warm_ so the empty _cold, anger, betrayal_ was so prominent it startled him awake. 

There was something lonely inside Naruto. 

_And he wasn’t sure it was entirely him._

o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Sasuke Uchiha was a stubborn five-year-old. He wanted every bit of his brother’s attention and admiration and was confused when it wasn’t given. Wasn’t that what brothers were supposed to do?

“Itachi is very busy, Sasuke,” his mother would giggle. “He can’t entertain you all the time. Why don’t you go play with cousin Sasami’s kids?”

Sasuke didn’t want to play with Sasami’s kids. Sasami’s kids were annoying.

He wanted to know more about their clan, so he tried reading his father’s scrolls. His father encouraged the interest, but his own brother didn’t.

“Enjoy your childhood just a little longer,” Itachi said one day, looking tired. Sasuke wondered what was supposed to be so great about childhood but Itachi looked really sad when he said that so Sasuke stopped studying and started exploring the village more.

Father warned Sasuke not to leave the Uchiha compound, but there was so much of Konoha to explore. Due to the Konoha Police Force, there were Uchiha _everywhere_ so Sasuke had to use his really awesome ninja skills to sneak around – just like Itachi! Konoha was the village hidden in the leaves and Sasuke loved climbing trees. He explored the forests, the buildings, the towns center, and even stopped to admire the carvings on the Hokage Mountain.

He stared for a very long time at the first Hokage’s face, laughing to himself at how stupid the guy looked trying to be all serious. _Hashirama was never serious except when he betrayed his best friend––_

Sasuke’s rebellion lasted a few days, pretty much as long as it took his mother to realize he wasn’t playing with cousin Sasami’s kids.

He was climbing a tree near the marketplace when his mother spotted him. Sasuke knew pretending he didn’t see her stern gaze would have been a very bad idea, so he frowned and climbed down the tree to meet her scolding.

“Your father warned you about leaving the compound,” his mother said, tugging him along.

“But–“ Sasuke said.

“No,” she snapped and Sasuke was shocked. Mother always listened to his reasons, even if she immediately told him that he was wrong. Her face was pinched together. Focused.

“Ka-san?” he asked, unsure.

“You’re my baby,” she said, eyes forward. “I want to keep you safe more than anything.”

Sasuke looked at his mother's face and saw fear. Her eyes weren’t watching the path ahead, she was watching the villagers. He tried to see what she saw – did someone make a threat against his family? Was anyone watching them right now? – but it didn’t look like any of the civilians cared.

But his beautiful, strong mother was _scared._

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke whispered. His mother’s face softened, and she smiled at him.

“It’s alright, baby, you didn’t know,” she said, “but listen to adults when they tell you things. I know you want to be strong like your big brother, but Itachi wasn’t always strong.”

Sasuke must have made a face because she laughed. Imagining his brother as anything but strong was impossible. _It was his job to be strong so Asura could live free–––_

A commotion at a stand caught their attention. A villager was yelling, and a small boy ran past, clutching ryō in his hands. Sasuke couldn’t hear what they were saying but the man and boy both looked angry. 

Around the corner the Konoha Police emerged, snagging the back of the young boy’s shirt. He struggled, little fists clutching gold coins trying to land a hit.

“What was stolen?” one of the ninja police asked. He was an Uchiha, like most of the force and Sasuke felt pride at the important role his clan was given in protecting the peace of the village.

The angry old man from before pointed at the kid, “He took those coins straight from my hands. I work hard to earn a living and that thieving brat stole from me.”

“Didn’t!” the kid cried. Sasuke noticed his hair was a bright yellow color. Kind of weird.

“My shop can’t survive thieving brats,” the man shouted again.

“It’s mine!”

“Horrible, horrible child!”

The boy looked to the man holding him and said, “I buy bread he wouldn’t not give and takes my coins.”

Sasuke heard those listening laugh at the boy’s language, or lack of. Sasuke wondered why the boy didn’t know how to speak right. Another member of the police force took the coins from the struggling kid’s hands and handed them to the old man.

“Problem solved,” he said. 

“No!” the boy yelled, trying to fight against his captors. The old man shoved the coins in his pocket and sent the kid a rather nasty sneer.

“Serves you right, nasty brat. Never steal from me again, ya here,” he growled, stomping back to his shop.

“Didn’t!” the boy yelled again, letting out an “oof” when he was dropped to the ground. The police were already walking away and no one was giving him a second glance.

Sasuke still couldn’t see the boy’s face. He wondered if the kid’s parents knew he was stealing from people. His mother and father would ground him forever!

The tightening of his mother’s hand made him look up. She was watching the boy.

“Ka-san?” Sasuke asked. 

His mother blinked, one hand clenched inside her apron, and Sasuke suddenly knew things. It was like spying but different. It was like when Itachi used words to say something, but his voice to say another. 

Sasuke knew his mother wanted to talk to that boy.

Sasuke knew his mother was very much not supposed to – _forbidden, bad_ – talk to that boy.

Sasuke knew his mother was in _painpainpainsadpain_ and was going to do something _bad, forbidden_ if Sasuke didn’t do it first.

Feeling very much like a hero, Sasuke broke away from his mother and rushed to the boy. He could hear her startled gasp but despite her _fearnoSasuke,_ Sasuke was a kid and kids didn’t have the same rules as adults and made mistakes and didn’t listen to their parents and could approach a boy who wasn’t supposed to be approached.

Maybe childhood wasn’t so bad.

“You shouldn’t steal stuff,” Sasuke said to the boy who startled and faced him. His eyes were really blue. “The Police will get you and you’ll have to be locked up.”

“I didn’t not steal,” the boy said, but he wasn’t yelling anymore. He titled his head to the side. Did he think Sasuke’s eyes were weird too? Sasuke thought his eyes were pretty normal, thank you very much. Maybe he hadn’t seen many Uchiha before.

“Why’d the old man yell, then?” 

“He’s a jerk,” the kid spat, kicking the dirt. “Wouldn’t not take my coins.”

“Ryō,” Sasuke corrected.

The boy scrunched up his nose. He looked confused. Sasuke pulled 10 ryō from his pocket – for emergencies, his mother had said – and handed it to the boy.

“Ryō,” Sasuke said again, when the boy stared. After a moment, the yellow-haired boy with strange blue eyes reached out and slowly took the currency, eyes darting around. A couple villagers were watching but Sasuke didn’t think that stupid old man from earlier was.

“You talk funny,” Sasuke said.

“Do not!” the boy replied, looking offended. Sasuke laughed. The boy’s face looked all weird when he was angry. The lines over his cheeks scrunched up like whiskers.

“Okay, bye now,” Sasuke said, waving. The boy stared some more and Sasuke raced back to his mom. She looked scared but there was something about her expression that made Sasuke feel proud.

“Sasuke, you shouldn’t talk to that boy,” she said and Sasuke knew with 100% certainty this was one of those times where words didn’t match feelings.

“Okay,” Sasuke said, easily.

But Sasuke Uchiha was a very stubborn five-year-old and telling him not to do something only made him more eager to do it.

That night, Sasuke dreamed of blue and yellow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Kaguya was known as the rabbit goddess. 
> 
> Let me know what you think. This update is dedicated to the person who bookmarked this story with the tag "IF THIS DOESN'T UPDATE I WILL CRY." You made me laugh :)
> 
> \------  
> Keeping track of the TIMELINE:
> 
>  **Chapter 1** : 3 & 4 years-old  
>  **Chapter 2** : 5-years-old | Naruto and Sasuke meet


	3. Of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world as uncertain as it was terrifying, Naruto lived clinging to certainties.

In a world as uncertain as it was terrifying, Naruto lived clinging to certainties.

_He was five years old._

_He lived in a village surrounded by trees._

_He was an orphan because he didn’t have a mom or dad._

_Adults were not nice to orphans._

In the orphanage, Naruto learned very quickly that adults did not tolerate dirty street rats. He remembered faded moments of hunger and loneliness. Sometimes, when the ladies in charge forgot to leave the front door unlocked in the winter, there was _coldcoldcold_ , but warm hands would fix it quickly and he’d wake up inside wondering how he’d gotten there.

The cold, hunger, and loneliness didn’t stop when Naruto moved to a new place so he figured the certainty that adults were not nice to orphans would remain.

(It did.)

The sad old man Naruto called Jiji kept finding him in the woods when he hunted for food, but in the village he only visited to bring Naruto new coins.

“Use them wisely,” the old man advised with a wrinkly old face. Naruto had never heard that word before. 

He knew what coins were meant to do though and the young five-year-old used them often. He dared to enter shops and marketplaces with colorful foods Naruto had never seen and crowds of people that overwhelmed his sensitive ears. 

He was confused but asking questions made the mask people go away so the little orphan looked upon the world with eyes that saw but did not understand.

Naruto adjusted as best he could. Coins were exchanged for shiny keepsakes and plants – food was added to the list when he bothered to remember – but little was left for things like toilet paper or toothpaste, objects that seemed important to the adults at the orphanage.

(He remembered tight, cloth coverings and weeks of painful rashes before the white shorts disappeared and he was handed a strange roll and directed towards a white bowl.)

At the orphanage, bath water was brown and cold but in Naruto’s new place it ran clear. The orphanage said they should always smell “nice enough to take home” whatever that meant, but Naruto liked the smell of trees that clung to him after days in the forest. 

Naruto knew not to touch the hot circles in the kitchen because invisible fire came from there. He knew he could get tastier food from the forest than the marketplace. He knew that asking questions was bad and making eye contact with adults did weird things to their faces.

And Naruto knew with 100% certainty that adults were not nice to orphans.

_A boy with dark eyes and a wide smile stood before him. “You talk funny,” he laughed._

_Naruto yelled back and something inside him felt warm._

He wasn’t too sure about kids, though.

* * *

Sasuke knew with 100% certainty that he would find the strange boy again.

It took _forever_ until Sasuke got the chance to sneak out – (Two days but it might as well have been a year to a five-year-old) – but this time, he was on a mission. Like a real ninja! Blonde hair shouldn’t have been too difficult to find but Sasuke kept running into people whose color wasn’t right.

“Yellow, like the sun,” he had tried to explain.

“My family’s the only clan with blonde hair,” the girl with the long ponytail said after Sasuke ran into her.

Itachi would never give up on a mission even if it was hopeless so Sasuke kept his spirits and swept the popular marketplaces of the village for blonde hair and blue eyes. The Uchiha kids in the compound were taught to memorize the Konoha clans when they were little, but Sasuke just knew that the Yamanaka clan didn’t have who he was looking for.

He visited the angry old man’s shop first to look for clues. He was super stealthy and made sure to hide as he scoped the place out. 

(At one point he thought he’d been spotted but the lady placed her hand over her mouth and did a weird bouncing thing with her shoulders so Sasuke figured he was okay.)

After a frustrating afternoon, his feet led him to a park where kids his age played. Sasuke blinked, a little surprised at the sight. There were parks in the Uchiha compound, of course, but why had his parents never taken him here?

Sasuke barely hesitated before racing for the trees. He climbed a super duper tall one with a swing – even Itachi would be impressed! – and made sure to scan the area from above for potential enemies. There was a screaming kid with pointy teeth and red triangles who Sasuke vowed to keep his eye on.

Sitting on a branch, Sasuke absentmindedly ran his hand over the bark, enjoying the cold feeling of the wood. He tapped the pads of his fingers gently against the rough texture and kicked his feet in the air to the tune of a song he didn’t know the words to.

Lost in the moment, Sasuke startled when the branch dipped, unbalancing him when a person sat on the swing. It took him a moment to register the bright yellow hair.

“It’s you,” Sasuke gasped. _He was an even better ninja than his brother!_

The kid on the swing shot to his feet, head spinning until he spotted Sasuke sitting stealthily on the branch above. Unlike Sasuke's excitement, the blonde looked angry.

“Meanie!” he shouted, finger pointed upwards.

“Am not,” Sasuke insisted. His mother said he was the nicest child in the village.

“Am too!” 

“That doesn’t make sense!”

“You don’ make sense!” 

Sasuke was too excited at finding the strange boy to do anything other than push off the branch and land beside him with a grin so wide it hurt his cheeks. The boy jumped back, arms swinging.

“Won’t not take back,” he yelled, blue eyes narrowed.

“What?”

“Ryo.”

“That was for you.”

The kid stared dumbly.

“I don’t… give back?” the blonde said, speech as terrible as the first time they met. 

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “No.”

They were quiet for a moment and Sasuke wondered if the strange boy even knew what he was saying. Maybe he wasn't from a clan. Sasuke didn't know if civilians had pre-academy schools before they entered the ninja or trade academy so the boy might not have even learned to _read_ yet.

“My name is Sasuke Uchiha of the Uchiha main branch family,” Sasuke said, introducing himself. Uchiha were always polite, after all. “What’s your name?”

“Naruto Uzu-mah-kee,” Naruto said, lips moving weirdly like he wasn’t used to pronouncing the words.

Sasuke laughed. His new friend had the name of the ramen swirl. Naruto puffed his cheeks and scowled so Sasuke poked one. Naruto looked bewildered, slapping a hand over his cheek.

“I’ve never heard of Uzu-mah-kee before. Do you live nearby?”

Naruto was still covering his cheek and staring so Sasuke rushed with questions. He’d never been allowed to talk to kids his age that weren’t family.

“Why is your hair so yellow? Do you know the Yamanaka’s? What’s your favorite color? What’s your favorite food? Are you guys civilian or ninja?”

Sasuke leaned in closer when Naruto took a step back.

“I– I…” the boy stuttered, looking lost. Or overwhelmed, maybe? Uh oh, Sasuke was being too loud again. Father sometimes warned him not to bother others.

“Let’s be friends,” Sasuke decided, taking a step back to give Naruto more space. “I can’t come every day cause Mom’ll know I’m sneaking out but we can climb trees and get ice cream and practice being ninja. Outoto is the best ninja ever! You wouldn’t believe how fast he is. He’s Anbu––oh! But you can’t tell anyone cause it’s a secret, okay?”

Naruto nodded slowly, finally letting go of his cheek.

“Right,” Sasuke said, taking out a kunai – a real one he stole from the training grounds – “we can meet by this tree.” 

Kunai in hand, Sasuke turned to carve something in the tree to commemorate the occasion, but paused. The blade hovered over the bark.

“What you doing?” Naruto asked, peering over his shoulder. Sasuke let his arm drop a little and frowned.

“Writing our names,” Sasuke explained.

“The tree?” Naruto asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to hurt it.”

He was suddenly grabbed from behind and spun around. The expression on Naruto's face made Sasuke's head spin.

“You like trees?” Naruto asked, eyes wide with an emotion he couldn’t name. Of course Sasuke liked trees!

“Uh huh!” 

“Me too,” Naruto breathed.

After a second, he pushed past Sasuke to pat the tree. For some reason, the image looked really warm. Like when Itachi called him "Nii-san." Naruto took his time tapping the pads of his fingers on the bark.

“Okay,” Naruto said, finally smiling.

“Okay?” Sasuke asked.

“Uh huh.”

“Okay!”

Sasuke liked the smile on Naruto’s face. He could count all of his teeth. He stepped forward to pat the tree like his friend did. The bark felt warm this time.

As he carved their initials in the wood, Sasuke couldn’t stop looking at Naruto and grinning. His new friend smiled back.

“Done?” Naruto asked.

“Done!” Sasuke said, stepping back to admire his work. His handwriting wasn’t as neat as Itachi’s but he could clearly read the SU and NU carved in the tree.

Naruto stepped beside him and stared at their initials for a long time. He must not have done something like this before either. Sasuke was pretty certain his mother and father would yell at him for ‘delinquent behavior.’ The thought made him even prouder. 

“We gotta be here every day, okay? When the sun’s right above,” Sasuke said, pointing up. “But if–if one of us can’t we just still gotta if we can.”

Naruto nodded eagerly. “Right,” he agreed.

“And don’t tell your parents!”

“None!”

“Yeah! We gotta keep secrets like ninja.”

“Like ninja!”

Sasuke felt himself vibrating with excitement. Sure Naruto’s hair was weird and his eyes were super blue and his cheeks had strange lines, but he was so different from the other Uchiha kids and Sasuke was eager for difference. The other kids were nice and were good at playing games, but there was a weird feeling whenever he stayed within the compound.

_TrappedTrappedTRAPPED._

Sasuke felt his first taste of freedom and _breathed._

“We can climb trees,” he exclaimed, encouraged by Naruto’s happy gasp.

“Woah,” Naruto whispered, head tilting back like he never realized he could climb the wooden giants. 

Sasuke put his hand over their initials and reached for Naruto’s. At first, the blonde jerked away, but when Sasuke waited patiently – Mom would be so proud! – Naruto allowed his arm to be moved. With both their hands placed over their initials, Sasuke felt empowered.

“It’s a promise,” he decided with a serious nod.

Naruto’s hand was small and calloused. Placed over Sasuke’s, it felt strong.

“Promise,” Naruto whispered, fingers curling.

_Under their fingertips, the warmth of the tree turned to fire._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N:** Me: Isn't it amazing that I just updated my stories last month. That means I don't have to feel the looming social pressure to update for a while! :D
> 
> *looks at calendar*
> 
> Me: jESUS fUCKING CHRIST SINCE WHEN IS IT NOVEMBER
> 
> This chapter can be summarized as "unstoppable force" meets "very confused object." Kids just rush into things, my dudes, and Sasuke? Pre-massacre? Yeah, he's 100% pure child. And he wants to make friends.
> 
>  **Sasuke:** You're super weird and my mom said I can't talk to you! Let's be friends!  
>  **Naruto:** Kindness??? In this economy???  
> \---------
> 
> _In other news, I have a new idea for a Naruto story and will probably post it soon. I don't like that Kishimoto never explores/explains Naruto's childhood and the abuse he suffered (fics that escalate the abuse to unbelievable levels annoy me but god at least the authors acknowledge it) so I'll definitely be exploring little breadcrumbs that children growing up in abusive situations leave behind._
> 
> _As a teacher, I'm sadly familiar with it._
> 
> \-----------
> 
> Keeping track of the TIMELINE:
> 
>  **Chapter 1:** 3 & 4 years-old  
>  **Chapter 2:** 5-years-old | Naruto and Sasuke meet  
>  **Chapter 3:** 5-years-old (2 days after chapter 2) | Naruto and Sasuke meet again


End file.
